By Thomas Spence Duché the Pennsylvania Magazine of HISTORY and BIOGRAPHY
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WILLIAM RAWLE, 1759-1836 By Thomas Spence Duché THE Pennsylvania Magazine OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY Artist in Exile The Story of Thomas Spence Duché HEN Thomas Spence Duché was born on September 15, 1763, it was into what seemed an assured place in Phila- Wdelphia and its society. His father, the Reverend Jacob Duché, had just been ordained into priest's orders in the Church of England and had entered upon his duties as the assistant minister of Christ Church and St. Peter's, and it was to Christ Church that the boy was taken for baptism on October 16, 17631; his mother was a Hopkinson, the daughter of Thomas Hopkinson and sister of Francis. The world of 1763 must have seemed extremely stable to most of the members of Thomas's family and their friends. The young king, George III, had been on the throne for three years, his accession having been celebrated at the College of Philadelphia in 1762 by a dialogue and ode exercise, written by Jacob Duche and Francis Hopkinson. Three years after the boy's birth, almost coincident with the repeal of the Stamp Act, two of his uncles, Hopkinson and John Morgan, in competition for a medal presented to the College of Philadelphia by John Sargent, wrote essays on "The Reciprocal Advantages Arising from a Perpetual Union between Great Britain and Her American Colonies." As a trustee, Jacob Duche was one of the judges who awarded first prize to John Morgan, though he did 1 Manuscript Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, CII, 551. 3 4 ALBERT FRANK GEGENHEIMER January not know it at the time, as the essays had been submitted under pseudonyms. The early life of the child naturally enough passed without much occasion for him to be spoken of in correspondence or to find his way into formal record. About the only kind of reference one encounters is the sort offered by a letter of Dr. John Morgan to Miss Nancy Hopkinson of May 14, 1770, in which he remarks that "Tommy & Hetty Duche who have been on a visit present their Love to Aunt Nancy."2 One may perhaps question whether they had so much asked their uncle to make this remark as that he felt it should be made. It was in December of the same year that the family was saddened by the death of a new daughter, Mary, who lived only seven weeks. We must assume that young Thomas followed the usual educa- tional pattern of his period and that he spent his earliest days of schooling at a dame school in Philadelphia. Then, as one would expect, he entered the Academy of Philadelphia, which his father had attended and of which he had been a trustee since January 13, 1761, the first alumnus to hold such a position. Thomas Duche was ten years old when he was entered in the Academy on November 22, 1773.3 The record books of the Academy show that he was fairly regular in his attendance (or at least in the payment of his tuition account) from that time until April, 1776. In April, 1777, it was noted that Duche had been absent from May 4 to October 8, 1776.4 It is not remarkable that the records themselves are somewhat frag- mentary at this particular period of history, but the last entry for Thomas Duche shows tuition paid for the period from August 6, 1778, to January 1, 1779.5 As far as one can determine, this was the extent of the young man's formal schooling. Living as he did in Philadelphia, with his father serving for a time as chaplain to the Continental Congress, with one uncle a member of the Congress and another surgeon general of the army, the young man could scarcely escape being impressed by the American Revolu- tion and the events which brought it on. From his point of view the 2 Redwood Collection, Maryland Historical Society (MdHS). 3 Archives of the University of Pennsylvania, V. a. 8, 93. These records were made available through the kindness of Dr. Leonidas Dodson, archivist of the University. 4 Ibid., 140. 5 Ibid., 149. i955 ARTIST IN EXILE: THOMAS SPENCE DUCHE 5 most influential event of all was the decision of his father that the Declaration of Independence had been a mistake and his subsequent appeal to General Washington to halt hostilities. It was this decision and appeal that made it necessary for Jacob Duche to leave Phila- delphia for England while the British still held the port. This he did on December 12, 1777. The defection of his father undoubtedly threw a large burden of responsibility on the shoulders of the young man. To be sure, his mother had her brother, Francis Hopkinson, and her brother-in-law, John Morgan, to lean upon, but Thomas very prob- ably now began to think of himself as the man of the family. It was apparently Hopkinson who posted a bond of £1,500, which the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania had required of Mrs. Duche when, on April 27, 1779, it ordered that a recommendation be given her to "pass into New York with her children/'6 Since on April 30 the Council ordered that a certificate of leave be granted, the bond must have been posted by that time.7 On June 8, 1779, however, Francis Hopkinson had to appear again and ask the Council to allow his sister and her children to return to Philadelphia. In support of his petition Hopkinson cited a letter from his nephew telling of the difficulties Elizabeth Duche had undergone. From New York on May 24, 1779, Thomas had written to his "Dear & Honoured Uncle" that, having obtained passage in a convoy about to sail for England, the family had remained aboard ship from May 15 to May 23, all except the first day spent at anchor off "ye Hook, . the wind being strong against us." "Mamma was taken with the Sea sickness, which brought on a Complication of Dis- orders" which in their turn so reduced her "that she was not able to Walk without Support, & was fainting continually till at last she was so ill that the Doctor of our & one of another Ship said they thought she could not support it many days longer."8 The doctors therefore advised her immediate return to New York. All this Hopkinson told the Council, adding that his nephew had not only informed him of these particulars, but had also requested that an immediate applica- tion be made for permission to return to Philadelphia. Hopkinson 6 Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, Colonial Records, XI, 759. 7 Ibid., 762. 8 Hopkinson Papers, II, 108, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP). Unless other- wise noted, manuscripts cited are in the HSP. 6 ALBERT FRANK GEGENHEIMER January further advised that his sister "is now amongst Strangers and de- pends on their Bounty."9 After twice deferring consideration of the matter, and after receiv- ing a medical certificate from Samuel Bard, "Doctor of Physick," as to Elizabeth Duche's condition, the Council granted the request to return.10 Once again the family was back in Philadelphia, but the attempt to join Jacob Duche in London was not to be abandoned. On April 7, 1780, Hopkinson again appeared in his sister's behalf. The official records are somewhat laconic in stating that he came "praying leave for herself and family to go to New York &ca., with her family and effects."11 Actually, his petition listed the family as "her three Chil- dren & a maid Servant" and the effects as "her necessary Baggage consisting of 2 Beds, 1 Matrass, 2 Chests, 6 Trunks, 1 Case of Bottles, 1 Barrel & 1 Kegg."12 Official records again become reticent and formal on April 15, 1780, when the Congress passed a resolution au- thorizing the issuance to Elizabeth Duche of "letters of protection to secure herself, her children and servants, her necessary sea furniture and stores ... against vessels of war belonging to the United States."13 The second attempt to reunite the family was successful. Thomas was able to write his grandmother, Mrs. Mary Hopkinson, and his aunt, Mrs. Morgan, that "We had a passage of 21 days," remarkably good time under the circumstances. He was forced to add that "My mother was many times reduced so low that I thought it impossible for her to reach land"; nevertheless, it had "pleased divine provi- dence to bring her & us to my dear Father in Safety with whom we live happily ... in a small but neat house 4 miles from London." Although the site was "thought to be the most healthy place in England" and was so located that "from our front Windows we may see the great City of London, & our back windows command the prospect of beautiful well Cultivated Country," the young man did not find the great city itself so healthful: "I was yesterday in London, where the Noise, hurry, & bustle threw me ill with the headach."14 9 Autograph Collection of Simon Gratz, Case 19, Box 5. 10 Colonial Records, XII, 17, 18, 36. n Ibid.) 309. !2 Autograph Collection of Ferdinand J. Dreer, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, I. 13 Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, XVI, 368. 14 Hopkinson Papers, II, 109. 1955 ARTIST IN EXILE: THOMAS SPENCE DUCHE J Thomas did not tell the precise location of their new residence, but it must have been in Hampstead, from which place Jacob Duche dated the preface to the first edition of his two volumes of published ser- mons on September i, 1779.